After several starts and stops, instant replay became a fixture in the NFL in 1999. Since then, it’s undergone many different tweaks and adjustments, including regarding which plays are eligible for review.
As things stand in the current NFL, which plays can instant replay change in a game?
Which Plays Are Reviewable in an NFL Game?
The NFL has experimented with various different forms of instant replay over the years. Initially, the modern version of instant replay only allowed plays to be reviewed if coaches challenged them.
Eventually, the league added a rule allowing the replay assistant to review all scoring plays and turnovers automatically. Most recently, in 2021, we got the current version of replay, which gave the booth expanded authority to assist in certain situations throughout the game.
The main impetus for this change was to speed up the replay process.
If you’ve watched enough football games over the years, you’ve surely experienced the frustration of seeing a replay knowing the play was going to get overturned, but still having to sit through a five-minute challenge and review process. The new review rules allow the replay assistant to overturn those calls on the fly, without having to go through the whole song and dance of a challenge and review.
Replay has undoubtedly made football better. And the modern rules have really sped up the process. But there are still some strange quirks with the replay rules, most notably regarding which plays can be reviewed.
What the NFL Rulebook Says About Reviewable Plays
Even if an NFL coach does not throw a challenge flag, replay officials “can proactively assist in situations where clear and obvious video evidence is quickly available to assist the on-field officials on objective rulings.”
The best example of this would be an incomplete pass. When events happen in real time, it can be difficult to se. Sometimes, a ball that very clearly hits the ground is ruled a catch. Rather than go through the whole process of a challenge, the booth can take one quick look at the replay, see that the ball hit the ground, and overturn it.
“The new assistance rule applies to plays where there is clear and obvious video evidence to proactively address specific objective rulings, such as spot of the ball or a foul, complete or incomplete pass, and touching of the ball or a line:
- Penalty enforcement
- Confirmation of the proper down
- Spot of a foul
- Game clock administration
- Possession of a loose ball
- Complete or incomplete pass
- Loose ball touching a boundary line, goal line, or end line
- Location of the football or a player in relation to a boundary line, line of scrimmage, line to gain, or goal line
- Player down by contact (when not ruled down on the field)
For the 2024 season, the NFL Competition Committee expanded replay assist to include objective input on:
- Roughing the passer
- Late hits out of bounds
- Intentional grounding
What Plays Are Not Reviewable?
No one is arguing officiating an NFL game is easy. But referees have been heavily scrutinized over the years, especially when they miss what appear to be very obvious calls. Many fans and pundits have called for a further expansion of instant replay to cover very obvious calls.
For example, while the enforcement of penalties is reviewable, whether to call a penalty is not.
Referee thought Sam Darnold decided to just twist his own head off. No facemask. Just Darnold trying to go full Exorcist out there. Yikes. pic.twitter.com/ba7EDjodAQ
— Michael Hurley (@michaelFhurley) October 25, 2024
The officials were all able to look up at the replay after this play in the Vikings-Rams game and see the obvious facemask. However, since penalties are not reviewable, they couldn’t throw the flag after the fact. The call was missed and the game ended.
If there was a missed hold, an ineligible player downfield, a player lined up offsides, or any number of transgressions that were uncalled, even if the foul is clear and obvious on replay, the NFL rulebook does not allow for a flag to be thrown after the fact.
The same goes for picking up a flag thrown for an act that was perfectly legal. Sometimes, a player can be tackled by the shoulder pad and it can look like a horse collar. If that flag is thrown, the officials are allowed to huddle up and discuss it. However, once they choose to call the foul, even if replay shows it clearly was not a penalty, it cannot be overturned.
Overall, replay has definitely been an overwhelmingly positive addition for the NFL. Given the progression over the years and the clear path toward expanded use, we can expect to see more clear and obvious errors reviewable as we go forward.